Is freedom free?

So I've been pretty closely following the uprising in Egypt the last couple of days.  It may not surprise you that I love a good protest and power to the people and all that - though I worry about what will happen and particularly about more people getting hurt or killed.

Today I was watching a news story about some Egyptians using social media to organize.  Though they can't currently get online and cell phone service is shut off, apparently cell service has been working intermittently and some people can use apps to access social media.  It's hard to not feel stupid using facebook to announce my annoyance with classes or my excitement to see a friend when people in Egypt are using it to organize resistance to the government. 

Last night I was out with some friends, listening to a cover band at a local bar.  We all had a good time, but the one song I couldn't make myself dance to was Superman that Ho.  I support the Egyptian people in their quest for free speech and all, but some of the assanine shit that people come up with in the US thanks to our free speech just astounds me.  At some point it occurred to me that the dance floor was crowded with 20-somethings lewdly dancing to a song that frankly is not so covert in its message about subjecting women to the sexual dominance of men while thousands of miles away, Egyptians are sneaking onto facebook and twitter to build solidarity and support in their movement for a better country and government.

"Do you think our lives are trivial?" I asked Jenn
"Yes." She responded immediately.

I'm feeling a little torn on the issue of free speech because I've heard too many people rationalizing sexism or blatantly singing about the sexual objectification and domination of women to be able to detach myself from it this week.  I think usually it's so easy for all of us to become desensitized to inequitable power dynamics that are so much a part of our every day lives, but sometimes, it's just all you can see.  And do I think people should have the freedom to perpetuate messages that are racist, sexist, homophobic, and so on?  I guess, because if they couldn't then the rest of us couldn't spread our messages opposing white capitalist patriarchy (thanks for that language, bell hooks).

People in Egypt are using their freedom to speak out against the government, calling for combatting poverty and joblessness, as well as demanding rights to free speech and access to methods of communication.  And what are we doing?  Using our free speech to Superman that Ho.